How the UK Prime Minister Is Appointed

The Constitutional Process

1. After a general election (or a PM's resignation), the monarch (currently King Charles III) invites the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons to form a government.
2. The invited leader accepts during a formal audience at Buckingham Palace—historically called "kissing hands."
3. The monarch then appoints them Prime Minister, granting authority to exercise executive power.

The sovereign's role is ceremonial; the outcome reflects democratic election results and parliamentary conventions.